Ring Fit Adventure

Ring Fit Adventure is an exercising action role-playing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. The game comes with two physical components: the Ring-Con, a flexible, hard-plastic ring that the user holds and one Joy-Con slots into, and a Leg Strap, a piece of fabric affixed to the user's leg that holds the other Joy-Con.

Ring Fit Adventure
Icon art, depicting the playable character, enemies and the Ring-Con accessory
Developer(s)Nintendo EPD[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Hiroshi Matsunaga
Producer(s)Kouichi Kawamoto
Designer(s)
  • Naoya Yamamoto
  • Ryosuke Suzuki
Programmer(s)Shinji Okane
Artist(s)Takafumi Kiuchi
Writer(s)
  • Mari Shirakawa
  • Yuichiro Ito
Composer(s)
  • Shinji Ushiroda
  • Maasa Miyoshi
  • Shiho Fujii
  • Asuka Hayazaki
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
ReleaseOctober 18, 2019
Genre(s)Exergame, role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

The game's main mode has the player complete a turn-based role-playing game, where player movements and battle actions are based on performing certain physical activities using the Ring-Con and Leg Strap, with the motion controls within the Joy-Con sensing the player's movement, and a strain sensor in the Ring-Con detecting bending of that accessory. Other modes include general guided fitness routines and party-style games. These activities are centered around common fitness exercises, making the game part of Nintendo's "quality of life" goals in line with a similar game of theirs, Wii Fit. The game was released worldwide on October 18, 2019. As of March 2020, the game has sold over 2 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling games on the system.

As much of the world went into quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic and with gyms closed, demand for the game increased drastically causing shortages in many countries. This led to resellers selling the game for over $300, up from its retail price of $80.[1]

Gameplay
Combat in Ring Fit Adventure has the player complete an exercise move (shown on left) to defeat enemies in game.

Ring Fit Adventure ships with the Ring-Con and Leg Strap, which have docks to hold the Switch's Joy-Con. These accessories are required to play the game, as the player's interactions with them are tracked by the motion controls built into the Joy-Con.[2]

The game's main mode is a role-playing game, in which the player takes the role of a young athlete that meets a sentient Ring, and they team up to take down an evil, bodybuilding dragon named Dragaux. The player moves their character across the game's overworld and into various dungeons, where they encounter monsters to fight. Moving across the game world is similar to a rail shooter; the player moves along a fixed path by running in place, jumps over obstacles by squeezing and releasing the Ring-Con, and can fire projectiles at items by squeezing in the Ring-Con in the target direction. When the player encounters monsters, the game uses turn-based combat as in most role-playing games. The player attacks the enemies by performing one of about thirty different exercises, with the amount of damage they deal based on how effectively they completed the exercise. When the monsters attack, the player can defend by pressing and holding the Ring-Con into their abdomen for as long as possible during the attack. Defeating monsters earns the player-character experience points, and as they level up, they can unlock additional exercises with more potent damage. Exercises are classified by color, each color corresponding to a general part of the body the exercise is geared towards, like shoulders or cardio; monsters are also marked by colors, and exercises of the same color are more effective against them, but only after that specific ability is unlocked early in the game.[2]

In addition to the adventure mode, the game includes a general fitness routine mode that allows one to perform the exercises, assisted by the game, but without the gamification elements. The game also has several mini-games based on certain exercises, which can be used by a single player to challenge themselves or can be used with multiple players each taking a turn to beat the others.[2] An update in late March 2020 also added a "Rhythm Mode", which allows the user to move along to soundtrack from the game. This mode also includes some music from other Nintendo games such as Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2, and Wii Fit.

The game includes the option to enable only quiet exercises to avoid disturbing others nearby. For example, in quiet mode, the running-in-place in the adventure mode is replaced by performing squats.[2]

Development

The game was first teased in early September 2019 with a video showing people using the Ring-Con and Leg Strap without showing the game,[3] with a full announcement of the game a week later.[2]

Several journalists observed that the game fits into Nintendo's long-running "quality of life" program, to introduce more physical activity into the playing of video games, that had been started by Satoru Iwata with the introduction of the Wii console, particularly in the game Wii Fit.[2][4][5] Parts of the design of the Nintendo Switch had been from player feedback from Wii Fit looking to make the controllers smaller so they could be strapped to the body and used in more possible ways.[6]

Ring Fit Adventure was released in North America on October 18, 2019. The game, shipping with the Ring-Con and Leg Strap, cost slightly higher than a typical game.[2]

On March 26, 2020 a free update was released, adding a rhythm game mode.[7]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic83/100[8]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid8/10[9]
GamesRadar+[10]
IGN7.8/10[11]
Jeuxvideo.com16/20[12]
Nintendo Life8/10[13]
VG247[14]

Ring Fit Adventure received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic, with a score of 83/100. Many critics agree that while Ring Fit Adventure is not designed for strength training, it is effective exercise for maintaining fitness. The RPG elements of the game are very simplistic; which allows casual videogame-players to play the game with ease, but which can be disappointing for fans of RPGs who want more of a strategic challenge.[15]

Sales

Ring Fit Adventure debuted at #3 in the UK,[16] and #1 in Japan and South Korea.[17][18] In Japan, it sold 68,497 copies within its first week on sale, which placed it at number one on the all format sales chart.[19] As of December 2019, the game has shipped 2.73 million units worldwide.[20]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for the game increased significantly, creating shortages.[21][22]

On June 18, 2020, it was confirmed that Ring Fit Adventure had sold over one million copies in Japan, where it shipped a total of 1,006,069 copies across the region.[23]

Awards

The game was nominated for "Best Family Game" at The Game Awards 2019,[24] for "Family Game of the Year" at the 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards,[25] and for "Game Beyond Entertainment" at the 16th British Academy Games Awards.[26]

Notes
  1. Graphic Assistance by 1-UP Studio

References
  1. Gartenburg, Chaim (March 19, 2020). "People Are Driving for Hours And Paying $300 to Buy Nintendo's Fitness Game". Vice. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  2. Webster, Andrew (September 12, 2019). "Nintendo's Ring Fit Adventure is Wii Fit meets Final Fantasy on the Switch". The Verge. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  3. Gartenburg, Chaim (September 5, 2019). "Nintendo teases strange new motion control experience for Switch". The Verge. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  4. Good, Owen S. (September 12, 2019). "Nintendo Switch's new ring controller game is Ring Fit Adventure". Polygon. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  5. Dayus, Oscar (September 12, 2019). "Nintendo Switch's Weird New Fitness Device Detailed: Ring Fit Adventure Releases Soon". GameSpot. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  6. McAloon, Alissa (February 9, 2018). "The Nintendo Switch, Joy-Cons, and even Labo are the result of Wii-era feedback". Gamasutra. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  7. McWhertor, Michael (26 March 2020). "Ring Fit Adventure adds a rhythm game mode with music from Splatoon 2, Breath of the Wild". Polygon. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  8. "Ring Fit Adventure for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  9. Andriessen, CJ (3 November 2019). "Review: Ring Fit Adventure". Destructoid. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  10. Loveridge, Sam (October 18, 2019). "Ring Fit Adventure Review". GamesRadar+. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  11. Dornbush, Jonathon (October 17, 2019). "Ring Fit Adventure for Nintendo Switch Review". IGN. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  12. "Test: Ring Fit Adventure: When sport and video games become one". Jeuxvideo.com. October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  13. Scullion, Chris (October 22, 2019). "Ring Fit Adventure Review". Nintendo Life. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  14. Donaldson, Alex (26 October 2019). "Ring Fit Adventure review: Nintendo's fitness RPG is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year". VG247. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  15. "The Legend of Zelda: Ring Fit Adventure for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  16. Batchelor, James (October 21, 2019). "UK Charts: Switch dominates as The Witcher 3 leads slew of new releases". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  17. https://gematsu.com/2019/10/famitsu-sales-10-14-19-10-20-19
  18. "MediaCreate 10 月 14 日～10 月 20 日一週銷售排行榜 《健身環大冒險》再掀體感熱潮". 巴哈姆特電玩資訊站. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  19. Romano, Sal (October 23, 2019). "Famitsu Sales: 10/14/19 – 10/20/19 [Update]". Gematsu. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  20. "Million Sellers Titles of Nintendo Products" (PDF). p. 7. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  21. "Coronavirus Fears Spark a Run on Nintendo's Ring Fit Adventure". Wired. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  22. "Chinese consumers snap up yoga mats, video games, condoms as coronavirus keeps them at home". Reuters. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  23. Romano, Sal (June 18, 2020). "Famitsu Sales: 6/8/20 – 6/14/20 [Update]". Gematsu. Retrieved June 21, 2020. no-break space character in |url= at position 61 (help)
  24. Winslow, Jeremy (November 19, 2019). "The Game Awards 2019 Nominees Full List". GameSpot. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  25. Chalk, Andy (January 13, 2020). "Control and Death Stranding get 8 nominations each for the 2020 DICE Awards". PC Gamer. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  26. Stuart, Keith (March 3, 2020). "Death Stranding and Control dominate Bafta games awards nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
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